Pang
by metaphorically-blue
Summary: Sakura confronts Sasuke. [She glares at you, and in the time it takes to blink and wonder why she's glaring, she punches you in the face.][SasuSaku, oneshot]


Warning/Spoiler: Sasuke left and broke Sakura's heart. Like we don't all know that.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, all my couples would've hooked up by now. But I don't. Sigh. Neither do I own the song "Stab My Back" by the All-American Rejects. Grumble.

Dedication: To my best friend, Blakers, just because she despises this couple (well, only Sasuke). I love you too!

Pang

_(can't get past her)_

She glared.

It was the first thing you noticed, as you regarded her. It was odd and out of place, because she never glares at you—because she always looked up at you, always kind and patient, not with waves of raw hate emanating from her stare. But that is what she did, as impossible as it seemed.

She glares, and you feel some shard left of whatever heart you had crack.

And in the time it takes to blink, to try to comprehend how _she_ could be _glaring_ because this is the healer, the kunoichi, the girl who had to be protected and never glared at _you_ in either of your lives, she punches you.

It's a solid blow to the face, and it makes you wince, but you take it.

Because deep down, beneath your layers of hatred and power and ice, you know you deserve it.

Another punch comes, this one to the stomach, but you take it too, even as the pain runs up and down your spine, because with each tingle of electricity your nerves send, they seem to scream in a voice like hers:How could you hurt me?_ How could you hurt me?_

A few more blows come, each one hitting like a sledgehammer, to your chest, your face, anywhere she can reach. You wonder when your bones will crack from the strain, and think that it won't get much worse than this.

But then she starts talking, and each word jars your already shattered heart, a burst of pain so sharp that it seems that no one, not Itachi, not the Akatsuki, not even _Naruto_, could hurt you as badly as she is hurting you now.

"I came after you." A punch, and the steadily growing bruise on your torso twinges. "I tried to stop you." You grimace while more jolts of pain run up and down your spine. "I cried for you." The glare is deepening as she delivers another blow to your face. "I told you that _I loved you_." She cocks her fist back, again and again, as every inch of your body screams with pain. "But what did you do?" She pauses, as if contemplating her answer, when you already know what it is. "You knocked me out and left me on a bench, _alone_."

You attempt to speak, to reason, just a little, even though you know it will sound feeble, a worthless attempt to save yourself from the damning words. "I—"

"_Don't even try, Sasuke!_" She glares at you, and as you watch, a tear trickles down her face. "I came after you, and you left me in the dust, unconscious, and then I was stuck, sick worrying about everyone sent to find _you_—risking their lives for a power-hungry _bastard!_"

Her hand slams you into the wall, palm on your throat, fingers touching the stone. "I came after you, and all you said to me was 'Thank you." She's looking you in the face now, and the anger has lessened. "I don't even know what the _hell_ that's supposed to mean." She's cocked her head, and more tears are streaming down her face, just like that night, when they were twelve and she was still innocent and you morphed from a teammate to the bastard who would break her heart. It's all you can do to keep looking at her, straight into those green, green eyes.

You hate watching her cry.

You hate it because it makes you feel guilty, so, _so _guilty, guilty in a way that no one, not even Naruto or Kakashi-sensei, can replicate. Every time you see her cry, your heart cracks—because those eyes aren't supposed to cry, they aren't _ever_ supposed to cry, but they do, and it's all because of _you_.

You make her cry, and you hate yourself even more because of it.

"I'm sorry." The words sound empty to your ears, because they can't make up for what you've done to her.

"Sorry? _Sorry?_" She laughs hoarsely. "Do you think sorry _means_ anything? Do you think _sorry_ can make things better? Do you think—"

"I know that."

Her eyes are incredulous. Her voice cracks. "Then why the hell do you say—"

"It's all I _can_ say." She's still looking straight into your face. "I'm sorry." _Sorry I can't fix things. Sorry that I broke you. Sorry that I'm broken. Sorry that I can't find any other words. I'm sorry._

"Stop it! _Stop it!_" Her voice is a scream now. "_Just shut up and stop it!_"

Her hand releases your throat, and you collapse, your legs weak from each punch, your ribs cracking and aching, your heart broken, shattered, in pieces. She falls to her knees, falls into your chest, and as the weight hits your torso, you wince a little, but say nothing. It's a good pain, because it takes away some of the guilt, to have her hurt you, instead of the other way around.

"I'm sorry, Sakura."

She's sobbing into your chest, and even though it hurts so bad, every muscle throbbing and aching while she cries because of what you've done, you want her to stay, to stay with you, to stay there as long as possible and never, ever go.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you."

The words seem to echo around, even though they were only whispered.

"I know." She says it slowly, quietly. "I know."

And slowly, a tiny piece of your shattered heart mends.

_it's better when-_FIN-_i bleed for you_

A/N: …Hey Blakers, I did add Sakura vengeance _and_ Sasuke getting the guilt attack he needs, _just for you_. You should feel so proud (even if you hate Sasuke). And see? This is my "Look I'm back!" gift to my lovely readers. I haven't abandoned you!

Review, or I'll have Sakura come after _you_.


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